FOREST ROADS AND TRAILS 



503 



THE DECIDUOUS LEAVED FOREST IN THE BOTTOM OF A 

 CANYON. THE LARGE TREES ARE ELM AND COTTONWOOD. 



out enough so that a horse can get 

 through with ease, which would mean a 

 cleared space of four or five feet. A 

 grade of fifteen to twenty per cent 

 would be permissible. 



The first and most important con- 

 sideration in trail construction is al- 

 ways the location work. Grade is al- 

 ways the determining factor in location. 

 Where it is steep, switchbacks should 

 be resorted to. The methods used in 

 location are, (1) compass and Abney 

 hand level (accurate), (2) hand level 

 only (fairly accurate) and (3) ocular 

 leveling (inaccurate). A route should 

 first be reconnoitered and definitely de- 

 cided upon before it is staked out. The 

 main points can be sketched in on a 

 map by means of a compass and hand 

 level. On short distances the hand level 

 will be sufficient. Laying out by eye 

 is a poor method and inaccurate at its 

 best. The route should be staked every 

 50 to 100 feet and blazed, but as a 

 usual thing routes are laid out by blaz- 

 ing only. The blazes should be made 

 close together along the trail so that 



there will never be any trouble in fol- 

 lowing them ; a long blaze with a hori- 

 zontal notch above is used on Forest 

 Service trails. Location should always 

 be from the top of a hill to the bottom, 

 otherwise the maximum grade is apt to 

 be exceeded, because in locating from 

 the bottom there is danger of making 

 the grade steeper than necessary. Lo- 

 cation work can be done very well with 

 a crew of three men and costs from 

 $2.00 to $10.00 per mile. 



There are several choices for trail 

 routes, (1) valley or canyon, (2) ridge 

 route, (3) trails crossing mountains, 

 and (4) foothill grade. The use of 

 one of the first two routes depends 

 somewhat on the nature of the country. 

 Where the canyons are extremely steep, 

 narrow, and full of boxes or interrupted 

 by cliffs, the ridges and sidehills can 

 be followed without much trouble. 

 Where sidehill routes are resorted to, 

 the south sidehills should be used be- 

 cause they are passable three weeks 

 earlier in spring and later in autumn 

 than north hillsides. Where the country 



